Spoken to a foe: “If you are scared, you will walk away. If you are wise, you will run.”

“Here I stand, bloodied but unbowed, facing the darkness. Give me sport, cowards!” (Reputedly spoken by the Sentinel of Unbridled Rage himself, while helping his followers defeat hoards of giants in the ancient Vrykarr Mountains.)

In battle, clerics of the Battle Rager are whirlwinds of destruction and many consider the Brothers in Blood to be the ultimate in fighting clerics. This is due to their rigorous physical training, their mastery of martial weaponry, and their ferocity in battle. However, individuals rarely follow a plan and do not work well with trained troops in combat. Additionally, clerics of the Red never retreat once engaged in battle.

The training of a cleric of The Red is like the forging of a weapon. There are three training phases for the Brothers in Blood. They are: the Stoking, the Forging and the Whetting. The Stoking involves intense religious training in which the initiate learns how to tap the berserk madness of the Blood Boiler during battle. They also learn to cast spells during battle. The Forging subjects the initiate to rigorous physical training that increases the strength, agility and endurance of the cleric. Initiates also learn how to receive punishment without yielding. The Whetting teaches the initiate how to use the sword or the axe in a lethal fashion. This helps provide them with the courage necessary to face any foe.

A quirk of these clerics is that they are obsessed with understanding the emotions of victims at the instant of death. They will often pause before killing a foe simply to ask, “How does it feel to die?” Some say that a clever answer may spare your life. Others have taken advantage of this lapse to escape death.

Adventures: Clerics of the Fearless One are children of battle. They often seek adventure with mercenary bands or elite guerrilla units, but never with an organized army. They will also join a group of adventurers as long as ample opportunity exists to display their prowess in battle.

Characteristics: Brothers in Blood use their combative abilities whenever possible. They are more likely to use a spell to encourage combat, to heal after a fight, and to enhance their abilities during a fight, rather than as a means of combat itself. Instead of appreciating other tactics or even considering their validity, most Brothers in Blood dismiss cunning or strategy as weakness. Brothers in Blood often choose the Blind-Fight feat.

Background: Birth into a world of violence is a common story among Brothers in Blood. An early victory through force of arms encourages the character to develop further skill at violence. Because of this predilection, Brothers in Blood tend to be bullies and attempt to use swords when words would suffice.

Races: Humans, wild elves, mountain dwarves, half-hobgoblins and half-orcs form the bulk of the Brothers in Blood.

Relations With Other Classes: Others earn respect based on their ferocity in battle. Fighters and barbarians are often close comrades, but it is well known that they dislike paladins.

Relations With Undead: The raising or use of undead poses no dogmatic issues for the cleric and risks no sanctions. However, clerics should not recklessly associate with undead, but only for purposes of helping the faith or its worshippers.

Role: Within an adventuring party, Brothers in Blood serve as elite shock troops, often enhanced by divine magic. After the battle, the Brother in Blood sacrifices the weak and helpless, and cures those who were victorious.